CHAPTER VII. 
ADVENTURES ON THE ROAD TO SYRACUSE. 
The morning was bright and bracing as our diligence rat¬ 
tled out of the streets of Catania, our little postillion as sparky 
as a red-bird in his jacket and feathers ; our conductor as 
sleepy as conductors usually are, and our horses as long and 
lean and full of latent fire as the diligence horses of Sicily 
are in general. The road for seven or eight miles was along 
the shores of the bay over a low plain, passing a few scatter¬ 
ing farm-houses and some of the battle-fields famous in the 
history of the early Sicilian wars. About seven miles from 
Catania we crossed the river Simeto, the largest, I believe, in 
Sicily. The plain through which the Simeto runs is of great 
extent, and abounds in fine meadow lands. Numbers of 
thatched cottages, of conical shape like hay-stacks, are scat¬ 
tered along the banks of the river, having a very peculiar 
and picturesque effect. We all dismounted at the ferry, and 
were ferried across in a dilapidated boat, which miraculously 
reached the opposite bank without sinking. The road now 
turned slightly inland, over rough barren hills, passing near 
Lake Beviero, or the Lake of Lentino, a pretty little fish-pond, 
till we reached the town of Lentini, where the horses are 
changed. Lentini is the modem name of Leontinum, once 
ranked among the most powerful cities of Sicily. It possessed 
in olden times handsome temples, rich public edifices, a pal¬ 
estra, and various works of art, but was laid waste during 
the wars; and now scarcely a trace remains of its ancient 
grandeur. It is a wretched collection of dirty dilapidated 
houses, with a population of filthy and half-barbarous peas¬ 
antry. 
